April 10, 2010 4:34 PM

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Polish Prez among 87 killed in plane crash in Russia

Polish President Lech Kaczynski has been killed in an air crash in Russia along with 132 others. The crash occurred in southwestern Russian region of Smolensk today.<br/><br/>According to preliminary reports, the plane got caught up in the tops of trees, fell to the ground and broke up into pieces. The Polish Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the head of the Polish army and the head of the Presidential administration were also on board the plane, along with the families of other senior officials<br/><br/>Russia's Emergencies Ministry said the Presidential plane crashed about 300 metres from the runway after hitting tree tops in dense fog.<br/><br/>According to Rossiya 24 TV, there were 87 people on board. All of them died in the crash. <br/><br/>Kaczynski was flying with a delegation to take part in the Katyn memorial ceremonies at the site where Polish military officers were executed on the orders of erstwhile Soviet Dictator Joseph Stalin during the Second World War.<br/><br/>Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has asked Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu to go to the Smolensk region to personally supervise rescue work.<br/><br/>He has also directed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to lead the probe.

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